Today is the first day of my summer vacation. It is a gorgeous day here in Atlanta. There is not a cloud in the sky and the humidity is almost nonexistent. Now this is not going to stay, but I am enjoying it while it is here. To celebrate my new unfilled time I just had to make these blueberry muffins with the first blueberries I have received this season. These were shipped here from Baxley, Georgia. When I saw the address I was flooded with childhood memories of the beach. Baxley is about an hour south of McRae which is my hometown. Driving through Baxley meant that we just had to travel through Jesup and we would arrive at our destination St. Simons. Then my sister and I would have all the pool time and beach time we wanted.

I can’t be at the beach today, but I can enjoy these muffins that just taste like summer to me. I first made these muffins three years ago after picking my first blueberries at the Albertson’s off of Post Road. What a lovely experience! Now I grew up picking all sorts of fruits and vegetables, but never blueberries. The Albertsons have some huge blueberries trees that are full of great berries. After making several different recipes for blueberry muffins this is the best. The lemon zest and blueberries together is such a good flavor. Add a little butter when you take them out of the oven and you too are going to love these!

Blueberry Muffins with a hint of Lemon taken from Pillsbury

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

3/4 cup milk

1/3 cup oil

1 egg, beaten

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin pan with 12 paper liners. In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt: mix well. Stir in fresh or frozen blueberries and 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel into the dry ingredients. In a small bowl,combine milk, oil and egg; blend well. Add to dry ingredients all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. DO NOT overmix. Overmixing leads to tunnels inside and tree tops for muffin tops and you do not want either. Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 18 to 22 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool for about 1 minute before removing from pan. Serve warm.

12 muffins – yield

Just a note – This makes a very thick batter resembling that made with buttermilk or sour cream. This is due to the lemon and milk reacting together. It’s what makes these muffins so good!